Power and Castroneves Record Top-5 Times at Mid-Ohio

August 1, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ohio. (July 31, 2013) – Team Penske was back on track after a three-week hiatus turning laps Wednesday at the IZOD IndyCar Series open test session at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Both Helio Castroneves and Will Power posted top-five lap times among the 24 drivers that tested Wednesday in advance of Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Rain made for wet conditions during the morning test session at Mid-Ohio. Neither Castroneves nor Power made an attempt to run laps. Both drivers made the most of the dry conditions in the afternoon session. Power was able to log 52 laps in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet throughout the course of the afternoon. He recorded a top time of 1:05.8206 and was third overall on the charts for the day.

“It was a good day for our No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet,” said Power, who has won two pole positions at Mid-Ohio, including last season. “This track takes rubber (from the tires) all day and with that it becomes quicker and quicker. The team made great changes to the car and we will continue to work on it during practice on Friday and see if we can improve. Overall, I’m happy with the day and look forward to the rest of the week.”

Castroneves ran a total of 50 laps and he recorded the fifth-fastest lap in the No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Dallara/Chevrolet at 1:05.9710.

“The PPG crew guys did an awesome job,” said Castroneves, a two-time Mid-Ohio winner who continues to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings. “We got a bit of a late start due to the rain this morning but we were able to use the entire afternoon session to test a few things for the race this weekend. I am happy with the set-up of the car and the track seems to be getting faster and faster every time we went out. But today gave us a good gauge as to where we are and I’m excited to get back behind the wheel on Friday.”

No on-track activity is scheduled for Thursday but practice will begin Friday and continue Saturday. Qualifying will take place Saturday at 2:00 pm ET and will be televised at 5:00 pm ET Saturday on NBC Sports Network. Sunday’s 90-lap race will be televised live on NBC Sports Network with coverage beginning at 3:30 pm ET.

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Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced more than 400 major race wins, over 450 pole positions and 27 National Championships. The team has also earned 16 Indianapolis 500 victories in its storied history. Team Penske was also recently recognized by the Sports Business Journal as a finalist for the publication's prestigious annual Professional Sports Team of the Year award.